


Stuck in the Middle

by dragons_and_angels



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Miscommunication, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, magical beasts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-17 10:04:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19951486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragons_and_angels/pseuds/dragons_and_angels
Summary: James said no crups. Scorpius disagreed and had a unique way of showing it.Based on the prompt - “We are NOT getting a crup.”





	Stuck in the Middle

**Author's Note:**

> It turns out I really like Albus being slightly hapless in the background while James and Scorpius try to have a serious conversation. Thanks to M for the beta help!

Albus stared at the sitting room of his brother and his brother's boyfriend. "So," he said slowly, "let me get this straight. James said you can't get a crup, so you got everything but a crup."

"Exactly." Scorpius didn't flinch as one of the knarls hissed as the niffler tried to approach its nest in the corner. The speckled half-kneazles, three of them in varying colours, watching with interest from the sofa but didn't intervene. A jobberknoll was making shadows on the wall using the Muggle lamp in the corner to entertain itself while the grindylow in the tank stared at it avidly through the cloaking seaweed. Every surface of the room was covered in humming, butterscotch yellow puffskeins.

"Won't the niffler destroy the flat?" Albus asked, remembering Hagrid's lessons on the magpie-like creatures.

"He's Luna's, so all I had to do was give him five Galleons and some of the silverware and tell him that if he destroys anything in the house I take it all away," Scorpius explained. He didn't look concerned that he had struck a bargain with a magical creature which could destroy his home, merely pleased he had found a way around it. Albus stared at his friend. He should have seen this coming ever since Scorpius had heard about Norberta in their second year and thought it was unfair Hagrid hadn't been allowed to keep the dragon in his wooden hut. He had warned James and the guy had still dated Scorpius, so it was all on him.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but why did you do this?"

"Yeah, I'm wondering that myself." James' voice made both of them jump and one of the kneazle-cats jump off the sofa and started to wind itself around James' legs. Albus' brother gave it a stroke, because he wasn't completely heartless, but the expression he directed at Scorpius was flat. Oh, this was not a conversation Albus wanted to be anywhere near. He tried to move away but ended up tripping over one of the knarls and when he landed on the floor, the niffler stole his watch. His tug of war with the little creature almost helped him drown out the sound of his brother and his best friend arguing. Almost.

"You told me I couldn't get a crup!" Scorpius said. He sounded righteously indignant and Albus would be on his side, except for how he had known him for years.

"So that's why you did all this?" James didn't sound angry, mostly tired and very bewildered. Albus felt a squirm of guilt and he didn't even do anything wrong. It was how James used to get him and Lily to do stuff when they were younger - guilted them into it with sad looks and the right guilt-inducing tone.

"You didn't discuss it with me, you just said 'no crups!' and then went to work." Scorpius sounded actually upset about this, rather than the slightly whiny tone he sometimes gained when he felt like he was in the right. Albus got distracted away from the niffler, only to find one of the kneazle-cats used his distraction as a chance to steal his wand.

"Scorpius, I said that because you have to get crups' tails docked! I knew you either never would and risk being arrested or you would do it and become really upset about having to dock their tails. Even if we adopted an older one, you would still feel bad whenever you saw its tail. I didn't say no pets, I just thought a dog would be better." The kneazle darted under the sofa with Albus' wand and he looked up just as his brother glanced at him. There was a moment of awkward eye contact until James turned back at Scorpius.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Scorpius' voice had gone all high, like it did when he felt guilty.

"Why didn't you wait to talk to me before you went and emptied Magical Menagerie?" James retorted.

Albus stared at the two of them. "Wow, you two are really bad at communicating," he said and only realised he had spoken out loud when both Scorpius and James' heads snapped around. They had almost identical glares and Albus blamed the fact that they were dating. Best friends shouldn't date your brothers, this was what happened. Maybe he should advise Hugo to make sure Rose didn't date Penelope Boot.

The two of them didn't respond to Albus, but looked at each other and make faces at each other in what they called 'good nonverbal communication' and what Albus called 'being ridiculously stupid about each other'. "He's your brother," Scorpius said.

"Hey!"

"He's your friend," James continued, ignoring Albus completely. "I can't choose my family but you chose Al. Plus you brought him back with you." Scorpius grimaced and Albus repeated his protest, though he knew it would be ignored. "Besides, if I can't sleep on our bed since the cats have taken it over, I'll be borrowing Al's bed and you can contend with the pets instead."

Scorpius looked incredibly grumpy at this and Albus renewed his efforts to get his wand back off the kneazle-cat. He didn't want to be stuck here and left to deal with all these weird animals. An idea seemed to strike Scorpius and he slowly put his arms around James' neck in a move which he couldn't resist and Albus really hated Scorpius for making sure he knew that. James' smile said it all.

"What about if we shared Al's bed?" Scorpius asked, his voice low and Albus grabbed his wand out of the kneazle-cat's mouth, ignoring the scratch and teeth marks he received while doing so.

"No flipping way," he said and apparated straight out of the flat. It was only when he got home that he wondered if maybe that was the point.


End file.
